


Bathymetry

by Ashkaztra



Series: Bloodborne [4]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Introspection, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 13:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19357933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashkaztra/pseuds/Ashkaztra
Summary: John is a terrible vampire.





	Bathymetry

“I can’t even turn into a bat,” John complains, draped across Todd’s weird nest-bed-net thing. 

Seated in the window seat nearby, because **he** can still enjoy the warmth of the sun, Todd looks up from his tablet with a quizzical expression. “I was not aware that you had a desire to turn into a small flying mammal,” he says, with that tone he always gets when he suspects John has lost his grasp on sanity. “Or were you referring to an implement for hitting balls?”

“The former,” John tells him, turning over onto his stomach. Todd’s bed might be weird as hell, but it’s oddly comfortable, and also currently out of the sun. “Though the latter might be interesting.” 

He can certainly think of a few people who could do with a good whack. 

“I believe I am missing important cultural context here,” Todd informs him, but his expression is clearly amused. 

Generally, it’s hard to say whether Todd is truthful or not when it comes to what he does or doesn’t know. He never outright lies to them, but he is a professional at omitting information. There is no reason why he’d lie about not knowing this particular cultural expression, though. 

John stretches. Everything considered, he is actually quite comfortable there. Not only is Todd’s bed-thing comfy to lie in, it smells like Todd does, a smell that most of all resembles pine resin and smoke. A smell John has come to associate with – He doesn’t even know. Whatever Todd is to him, he supposes. He would make a joke about literal dinner dates, but that implies something they haven’t ever talked about. 

They talk a lot, but never about whatever is going on between them. John talks about his life before Atlantis, more than he has told anyone else. With what they have shared, it doesn’t seem so unnerving to talk about other things. Todd, in turn, talks about his life, which has a lot more time to cover. A lot. 

It’s intimidating as hell to think about how old Todd actually is, and what that means. It’s not just that he is over ten thousand years old, it’s that he has lived ten thousand years, has so many years of experiences and memories. 

Even more intimidating, John might live like that now. They still don’t know what the vampirism has done to his system, not really. His cellular regeneration has picked up, but they have no idea what the limits are. Most likely he will outlive any human, which is terrifying. They don’t know if he will live forever, though, like a Wraith theoretically can. 

Hundreds of years isn’t unlikely, though. Maybe thousands. He wonders if his mind is even equipped to handle that. Wraith all live forever unless they’re killed. Their minds are meant for immortality. John still feels human, even though he’s not. Human minds are not meant for eternal life. His mind might fracture under the pressure, or just wither away until nothing of him remains. 

“Vampires in the stories can do all kinds of fun things,” John says, pushing his mind to something less intimidating. “Turn into bats, or into mist. Some even turn into wolves, or command them. And some of them fly, or climb like a lizard, or can charm people with their eyes. All I get is blisters in sunlight and a hunger for blood. I’m a terrible vampire.”

“Given that you do not want to be a vampire, is that a bad thing?” Todd asks, and his tone is less amused now, more genuinely curious. For such a secretive person, Todd isn’t really hard to read. It’s more that he never actually shows anything he doesn’t want people to read. His body language is carefully curated, but it’s also expressive. 

Propping his hand up on his hands, John tries to shrug as best he can, not an easy feat while lying on a net-bed-nest like that. “I guess it shouldn’t be. But it’s just typical, you know? I go and get turned into a vampire and don’t get any of the cool powers, just all the sucky side effects. At least Wraith can do a bunch of neat stuff.” 

Todd gives him a look, and leaves his window seat to join John on the bed, the strange net-like base shifting under his weight. “If it is at all a comfort, Sheppard, you would be a terrible Wraith as well.” 

John laughs. It’s a bit of a desperate laugh, though the thought is actually hilarious in its own way. Mostly he laughs because he doesn’t know what else to do. The whole vampire thing has been like that. 

His relationship like Todd has been like that, too, long before anything else ever happened. Complicated doesn’t even begin to cover it. 

There is a comfort to it, though. Not to Todd’s words, perhaps, but to his actions, his presence. Perhaps it’s the hive thing John hasn’t even begun to understand the full meaning of. Maybe it’s just the loneliness and isolation from no longer being human, from actively being a danger to his friends just by existing. Maybe he’s losing his mind. John doesn’t really know. 

Lying down next to him, Todd curls against him, strangely warm. He has basked in the window all day, and now he radiates heat, like a small sun. Leaning into him, John wonders if that makes him the moon, a pale imitation that can only reflect what the sun is. 

Apparently being a vampire makes him extra dramatic. He supposes that is something, at least. 

Pulling him close, arms wrapped around him, Todd purrs against his neck. “There are many things that make you special, John Sheppard,” he says, voice low. “And none of those come from what you are now. They were always there. All this does is give you the time to grow into them properly.” 

There is definitely discussions they need to have. Several of them.

But at least it seems like they will have the time to spare.

**Author's Note:**

> John might be a terrible vampire, but Todd is just generally terrible. He does care in his own weird way, though. 
> 
> A quick little vampire!John ficlet because the idea of John lamenting not having any cool vampire powers wouldn't leave me alone.


End file.
